Staccato Beat of My Heart
by Aoi Kazuya
Summary: What if Hino Kahoko wasn't the only student to have seen Lili? Enter Mizushima Tsubame. Just who is this first year student who seems to have no care in the world? ShimizuXOC
1. Crescendo

**A/N: So I suddenly felt like watching La Corda D'oro...and found myself finishing the anime the same day I started. The music was beautiful, the character designs were pretty...I was inspired. So, as I'm so used to writing OC fics, here's my version of the anime storyline of La Corda, with my own twists.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own La Corda D'oro. I don't own the music pieces that will be mentioned. Anything you don't recognize (i.e. Tsubame, Akira) is mine. Just thought I'd mention that first. :)**

**Enjoy,**

**~ [Aoi-Kun]**

* * *

><p>A sigh of irritation slipped from a running girl as she slid to a stop at her home's front door, pausing long enough to pull on her shoes before grabbing her bag back up and grabbing a motorcycle helmet off the top of the shoe shelf. She slammed the front door behind her as she ran down the front path towards the motorcycle and driver waiting for her.<p>

* * *

><p>After the driver pulled to a stop before a pair of large gates, the girl reached up and pulled her helmet off, shaking her head slightly to fix her hair. Pure white strands of hair settled back into place after the abrupt movement and the girl got off, ignoring the many stares she was receiving. As she bent to fix her socks, the driver took off his own helmet, revealing a handsome male with black hair and curious brown eyes.<p>

"So this is your new school huh, Tsu-cchi."

The girl paused in her ministrations, briefly, and then continued before standing up once she was satisfied. "It's not so new anymore. I've been here since the spring after all." Mizushima Tsubame replied, meeting the boy's brown eyes with her own pair of light purple eyes. She pulled a pair of glasses from a side-pocket in her bag and slid them on, sighing once again. "Thanks for the ride Akira. You should probably get going if you don't want to be late for your own classes."

"Hai, hai. I'll see you later than Tsu-cchi~"

"Yea, right."

Tsubame watched as her friend sped off, covering a yawn with a hand as soon as he was out of sight. Shifting her grip on her bag so that she could carry it over her shoulder, Tsubame entered the school grounds, idly listening to the chatter around her. As she passed by a group of music students she caught a bit of their conversation.

"Did you hear? The concours are being held soon."

"I hope I get chosen…"

"But you know who will definitely get in?"

Tsubame stopped listening after that. A concours, huh? Sounded interesting, though she supposed that the general education students would have a harder time getting in than the music students would. As she entered the school building, Tsubame paused, looking over her shoulder.

'_Was someone yelling just now…?'_

The thought disappeared from her mind as soon as she was fully in the school though as a sudden snide comment was thrown her way.

"Would you look at that, girls? The little delinquent is still here."

Tsubame raised her eyes to see a trio of music students standing before her, sneering at her.

"Who are you again…?"

The leader of the group face-faulted before covering it up with an unsuccessful cough. "My, all those piercings of yours must have severed a nerve or something if you can't even remember our names. Or maybe it's just the way all you "punks" are."

"Excuse me senpai-tachi, if you don't have anything important to say, can I please get to class?" Without waiting for a reply, Tsubame walked around the three and continued her trek to her classroom, the entire conversation already forgotten as thoughts about the concours rose in her mind again.

Tsubame stopped in front of her classroom, looking up just to reaffirm that she hadn't gotten lost again. The numbers 1-1 stood out in white against the wooden board and Tsubame nodded to herself before entering and heading straight for her seat near the windows. Around her students greeted one another, asking how their weekends went. Tsubame laid her head on top of her arms, gaze glued to the view outside of the windows. She didn't fit in here, she knew that even without other students telling her so, but it would've been nice to have a friend or two after she moved to this town. Well…a friend that was her age Tsubame amended, Akira's face popping into her mind.

* * *

><p>The next thing Tsubame knew, the bell had rung and students were chattering loudly once again, some leaving the classroom, others pulling out bentos from their bags. Tsubame slowly lifted her head up, blinking slowly as her hair fell in front of her eyes, throwing everything into a haze of white. It was lunchtime. With a little effort, Tsubame stood from her seat, bringing her bag with her as she exited the classroom. Maybe she could catch a little more sleep on the rooftop before classes started again.<p>

A little while later, Tsubame found herself on the walkway that separated the general education building from the music education building. Slightly perplexed as to why she was there, Tsubame looked around for a clue as to why her feet would bring her there until the sounds of somebody crying caught her attention. She froze before turning to look around once more. There, on the hand railing, seemed to be a little…person. Dismissing the fact that the situation seemed too weird to be real, Tsubame walked over and leaned in the space next to the upset person….thing.

"Hey, are you alright?"

The…fairy, Tsubame decided when she caught sight of the wings, looked up in surprise. "You…you can see me?"

Tsubame tilted her head. "Uhm…yea?"

He flew up and smiled brightly at her. "My name is Lili. I'm a Fata, a fairy of music. What's you name?"

Tsubame blinked and pointed at herself, mouthing 'me?'

"Yea, you~ this years concours are going to be so much fun~"

"Eh? Well, my name is Mizushima Tsubame…"

"It was nice meeting you Mizushima Tsubame!"

Before Tsubame could say anything more Lili had disappeared, leaving Tsubame to blink blankly at the space he had occupied. Deciding it was pointless to head to the roof now that she didn't feel sleepy anymore, Tsubame headed back to her classroom. As she opened the door to her classroom, the principal's voice came out from the PA system.

"_I will now be announcing the participants of the concours."_

Tsubame started towards her desk at a sloth-like pace, half listening.

"_From the Music Department, class 3-B, Yunoki Azuma-kun. From the same class, Hihara Kazuki-kun. From the Music Department, class 2-A, Tsukimori Len-kun. From the Music Department, class 1-B, Fuyuumi Shoko-san. From the Music Department, class 1-A, Shimizu Keiichi-kun."_

There was a pause and someone sighed, "Figures they'd all be from the Music Department."

"_From the General Education Department, class 2-2, Hino Kahoko-san."_

Murmurs of surprise swept through the classroom as Tsubame finally reached her seat. As she was about to place her things back down…

"_And our final participant, from the General Education Department, class 1-1, Mizushima Tsubame-san. Congratulations to all participants."_

Silence prevailed in the classroom as the students that were there all turned to the silent girl as her things slipped from her fingers, falling to the ground with a loud 'thump'. Her eyes widened slightly from under the cover her bangs provided. What had just happened?

* * *

><p>The rest of the school day passed by in a blur for Tsubame as she tried to figure out how she'd even been <em>considered<em> for the concours. There was no way…unless…her thoughts flashed to her brief meeting with Lili…but that couldn't have been it…with a sigh, Tsubame finished packing away the last of her things as the final bell rang. She shouldered her bag and decided to go find the teacher in charge of the concours, maybe they would be able to explain how she'd gotten in.

"The concours? I believe Kanazawa-sensei was put in charge of that…" Ito-sensei replied when Tsubame approached him in the faculty room. The teacher turned in his chair to look across the room. "He's over there, the one with the purple hair, if you want to talk to him about it."

"Thank you, sensei." Tsubame bowed quickly before hurrying over to where Kanazawa-sensei was talking to another student wearing the general education uniform. Tsubame noted that she wore the red tie of the second years…so that was Hino Kahoko?

"Excuse me, Kanazawa-sensei?" Tsubame interjected when she noticed that neither person was speaking. Both pairs of eyes turned to her and did a double-take at her appearance. Used to the reactions, Tsubame merely pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "My name is Mizushima Tsubame. I was just wondering if you could tell me how I was accepted into the concours?"

Kanazawa raised a hand to run through his hair. "As I was telling Hino earlier, I didn't decide these things. But since you're here, I suppose you saw _that_ as well?" Tsubame blinked slowly at Kanazawa, who was slightly unsettled by her pale gaze. "Anyway, _that_ told you two to go to the Music Department's practice rooms so that it could explain to you two." Tsubame was about to nod in response when another voice caught her attention.

"Kanayan!"

Once again all three people turned to see two music students approaching, third years by the looks of it.

"We heard that you were in charge so we thought we'd come to greet you!" The green haired male of the duo exclaimed. Then he caught sight of the two girls and his eyes lit up even more, if that was possible.

"Oh! Are you two the general education students that are taking part in the concours? It's nice to meet you! My name is Hihara Kazuki! It's nice to meet you!" He greeted them, catching Kahoko's hands in his. "H-hai! I'm Hino Kahoko. It's nice to meet you as well Hihara-senpai."

Tsubame stared at her upperclassmen as the purple haired male of the duo stepped forward to put a hand on Hihara's shoulder. "Hihara, you might be scaring the poor girl." He then turned to Kahoko to introduce himself. "My apologies. I am Yunoki Azuma." The two boys then turned to Tsubame and she bowed slightly to them. "Mizushima Tsubame. It's nice to meet you Yunoki-senpai. Hihara-senpai."

"So, what instruments do you two specialize in, Hino-san, Mizushima-san?" Yunoki asked. Tsubame unconsciously clenched her left hand and averted her eyes from her senpais. "If it's the flute I'm afraid we'll be rivals then."

When neither of the girls gave a response Hihara exclaimed, "Or maybe it's the trumpet?"

"I-I-" Tsubame returned her gaze to Kahoko to see her flustered expression. "I've got nothing to do with this!" She shouted before running away, leaving behind two confused upperclassmen, one exasperated teacher, and one indifferent underclassman. "Please excuse me senpai-tachi, Kanazawa-sensei." Tsubame excused herself with a quick bow before promptly turning on her heel and running after Kahoko.

* * *

><p>"Hino-senpai…?" Tsubame inquired, yawning into her hand as she opened yet another door and peered in. More music students staring at her like she was a different species. She closed her eyes and closed the door, continuing down the hall. Maybe the older girl would have already gone to the practice rooms by now, Tsubame reasoned and redirected her steps there, completely ignoring the glances that she was given as she plodded along down the music department's halls.<p>

Closing the door softly behind her, Tsubame peered down the hall of doors she had just entered. Now which room would Lili be in…? She didn't have to wonder long as she caught a faint strain of Kahoko's voice. Tsubame followed it to a room where she pulled the door open, startling the older girl as she jumped around, shock written across her expression. "Hino-senpai…Lili…" Tsubame acknowledged the two sleepily. She'd been wandering the halls for a while now and she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep…but she had to get some answers first.

"M-Mizushima-san!"

"Tsubame."

"Eh?"

"My name is… Tsubame. Mizushima…is my Otou-sama." Tsubame mumbled, her eyes staring out the window with a glazed look in them. Kahoko gave a worried glance over to the younger girl before Lili popped back up. "Well since I'm done explaining everything I told Mizushima Tsubame to Hino Kahoko, I'll give this to you!" Lili waved his wand and a violin appeared in Kahoko's hands, snapping Tsubame from her daze as she stared with slightly widened eyes at the instrument.

"That's a magical violin. Anyone can play it!" Lili then went on to explain about it as Tsubame and Kahoko listened. "As for you…" Lili turned to Tsubame but before he could raise his wand again Tsubame shook her head.

"I won't be needing a magical instrument Lili."

Kahoko was confused by that. "Eh? But don't you need an instrument to participate in the concours Tsubame-chan?"

"Ah…" Tsubame smiled slightly at Kahoko's way of addressing her. "I have an instrument." Tsubame didn't offer any more information and Lili decided to take that time to explain the rest of the things about Kahoko's new violin to her. Nothing else rather interesting happened except for when Kahoko nearly broke the magical violin by throwing it across the room. It was only a few minutes after Lili left did something else happen. Kahoko had tried to play a note and the resulting noise had made Tsubame mentally cringe even as her outward appearance didn't change.

The door to the practice room suddenly opened and a blue haired male stood in the doorway. Tsubame glanced at the scarf around his neck and noted the red-color. Really…were there no people in her year around here?

"Excuse me, but I've booked this room for the entire day. Could you please get out? I don't want to waste anymore of my practice time."

Kahoko immediately jumped to put her new violin away as Tsubame continued to stare at the male, wondering why he looked so familiar. That is, until it clicked.

"Tsukimori…Len…"

Kahoko froze and both second-year students turned to the first-year, who was covering yet another yawn, blinking sleepily.

"That's…you, right? Tsukimori Len-senpai."

Tsukimori's eyes swept over Tsubame quickly, trying to place her before his eyes widened slightly. "You…!"

"Please excuse us Tsukimori-kun!" Kahoko interrupted, snagging her violin case in one hand and Tsubame's wrist in the other before pulling both from the room after her. Tsubame glanced to where Kahoko had left her bag, but had no chance to mention it before she was dragged from the room.

It wasn't until they were outside did Kahoko let go of Tsubame's wrist. The younger girl let her arm fall back limply to her side, watching as Kahoko leaned against a wall to catch her breath. A moment later, the red-head had turned on the snowy-head.

"What were you thinking, Tsubame-chan, talking to a senpai like that?"

'Eh…but I recognized him from somewhere is all, Hino-senpai."

"Neh, Tsubame-chan, why don't you call me Kaho-senpai? Since you let me call you Tsubame-chan?"

"Kaho…senpai…?"

"Mhm~"

"Kaho-senpai…"

"You don't have to repeat it Tsubame-chan…"

"You left your bag back in the room, Kaho-senpai."

Silence.

"Eh! Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Senpai runs too fast…"

As Kahoko was trying to figure out how to retrieve her bag, Tsubame wandered off to find someplace to take a quick nap. As she wandered, she found herself near the back, where the windows of the practice rooms opened out to. Deciding it was going to be the best place she would be able to find, Tsubame placed her bag near some bushes and plopped down onto the ground, using her bag as a pillow as her eyes drifted shut.

* * *

><p>She couldn't have been asleep for more than five minutes when a shout and something landing in the bushes near her woke her up again. Tsubame sat up slowly, a yawn slipping from her lips again as she raised a hand to rub sleepily at her eyes. It wasn't much of a surprise to her when she saw Kahoko standing with her back facing her. Tsubame stood up and brushed her clothes off before shouldering her bag and extracting Lili's gift to Kahoko from the bush's clutches.<p>

"You should take better care of your instrument Kaho-senpai."

The red-head turned with a squeak, since Tsubame had appeared rather suddenly. She silently held out the violin case and Kahoko reluctantly took it back. The two girls stared at each other for a moment before the sounds of a violin drifted through the air. Tsubame felt the notes blanket her and she let her eyes drift shut as she felt Kahoko move closer. A small smile tugged at Tsubame's lips as she reopened her eyes, without a sound she turned and walked in the opposite direction of the music. She already had a guess as to who it was that was playing the tune; she didn't need to go see.

Deciding that she had had enough excitement for one day, Tsubame tucked her hair behind an ear and left the school grounds, casting a lazy glance over her shoulder at the school building.

'_Why do I feel like…this school year is going to be…frustrating…?'_


	2. Waltzing Forward

**A/N: Here's the second chapter :) It's actually a lot harder than I thought it would be to insert Tsu-cchi into the story, but I'll just make up for it by adding my own scenes I suppose. Anyway, Shimizu-kun finally makes his appearance! And just what is this relationship between Tsukimori-kun and Tsu-cchi?**

**You'll just have to read to find out, neh?**

**I posted this chapter because I really like this story, but I'd appreciate it if I could get some reviews too :) **

**Please enjoy,**

**~ [Aoi-Kun]**

* * *

><p>After turning her alarm clock off the next morning, Tsubame sat up in her bed, blinking sleepily at the wall opposite of her before rubbing her eyes and letting her gaze land on the instrument case leaning against the end of her bed. Her sleepy expression disappeared, replaced with a melancholy look as she slid out of bed. She padded over to the case and ran her hands over it delicately.<p>

"It's been a while, hasn't it?"

* * *

><p>Tsubame had been peacefully napping when the PA system started, calling for all concours participants to head to the Music Department's conference room. She woke with a start when one of her classmates shook her shoulder.<p>

"Uhm…Mizushima-san…I-I think that means you too…"

The snowy-haired girl lifted her head to see who had woken her to find a female classmate practically shaking in her shoes as she waited for a response.

"Oh…thank you Saito-san."

Saito seemed to be glad that her task was over as she quickly scurried back to where her friends were, all of them instantly whispering to one another again, occasionally glancing at Tsubame. Tsubame dismissed the action and got up from her seat. She didn't trust the people in her class to leave her things alone so she shouldered her bag and bent to pick up her instrument case before exiting the classroom.

As she left, she heard one of the other girls ask curiously, "Hey didn't that case look like…?"

Figuring that she'd be late no matter how fast she went, Tsubame walked at a leisurely pace, pausing to glance around herself to affirm that she hadn't gotten lost again and turned the corner, stopping just in time to avoid colliding with three upperclassmen that suddenly ran past her. Tsubame turned her head to glance at them questioningly before realizing she'd reached her destination.

She opened the door and realized that she'd cut Kanazawa-sensei off in the middle of his sentence.

"Well, I guess that's everyone then…huh…"

Tsubame cast her gaze around the room, raising a hand to fix her glasses, and was glad to finally see people that were in her year, even if they were music students.

"It's best for you all to meet each other at least…the principal told me. So we'll just…start from that end." Kanazawa-sensei said, pointing towards the green-haired girl standing closest to the windows.

"Ah, um…I'm Fuyuumi Shouko, from 1-B. I specialize in the clarinet." She was cute in that shy sort of way.

"1-A, Shimizu Keiichi. I specialize in the cello." He was adorable as well, with the way he seemed to be sleepy all the time…kinda like herself, Tsubame mused. But she wasn't always like that, she wondered if Shimizu was always like that.

"3-B, Hihara Kazuki! I specialize in the trumpet! Nice to meet you!" The green haired senpai from yesterday.

"From the same class, 3-B, Yunoki Azuma. I specialize in the flute." And the purple haired senpai from yesterday.

"2-A, Tsukimori Len. I specialize in the violin." Him.

Silence. Tsubame blinked and then turned her eyes to Kahoko, waiting for the girl to speak. "Hey…" Kanazawa-sensei prompted. Kahoko seemed to snap out of her stupor then.

"Ah, 2-2, Hino Kahoko. Violin…"

Tsubame blew out a breath of air and lifted her head before smiling brightly at everybody. "I'm Mizushima Tsubame, from 1-1. I, too, specialize in the violin. Please just call me Tsubame."

"Right, that's all seven of you…The concours is split into four selections. You will be ranked in each selection and the finalists will be chosen from these rankings."

Tsubame watched with slight amusement as a look of shock crossed Kahoko's face.

"You will be presented with a theme for each selection. You can choose whatever song you wish, but it has to be based on the theme. In short, your interpretations of the respective pieces are important. However, before the ranking and all that takes place, I want you to deepen your musical comprehension…and more than anything don't forget to enjoy yourself."

Enjoy, huh? Tsubame closed her eyes and a small smile played at the edge of her lips. It had been some time since somebody had said those words to her.

* * *

><p>"Tsubame-chan!"<p>

Tsubame stopped walking and half-turned to see Kahoko approaching her. Classes had ended for the day and Tsubame had figured she'd head to the roof to practice a little bit, or something like that.

"Kaho-senpai?"

"Uhm, are you busy right now Tsubame-chan?"

"Not really…"

"Can you help me with something?"

And like that, Tsubame found herself following after Kahoko to the school's rooftop, wondering what she'd just agreed to doing. As the duo neared the top of the staircase, Tsubame could hear faint strains of trumpet playing and wondered who could be on the rooftop practicing. She didn't have to wonder long as Kahoko opened the door to bright sunlight and both girls saw the now familiar head of green hair that belonged to Hihara.

The third year stopped playing and turned to the girls, an easy smile appearing on his lips. "Hino-chan! Tsu-chan!" Tsubame's eyes widened briefly at the nickname before she smiled in return. "What are you two doing here?"

Tsubame turned her eyes to Kahoko, wanting to hear why they were there as well.

"Oh, um, practice."

"Oh! What piece are you practicing?"

"G-Gavotte…"

"Gavotte? I played that before!" Hihara exclaimed happily. His happiness was contagious and Tsubame found herself laughing softly. Truthfully, she had placed the piece before too, but she didn't think it was important enough to mention.

Hihara stepped back and raised his trumpet. "Hihara Kazuki will now grace you with his performance!"

As the trumpet's sound swept over them, Tsubame couldn't help but notice how…playful the tune was when it was played on the trumpet. It sounded like… a lot of fun. Tsubame noticed her senpai's saddened expression and laid a hand on Kahoko's shoulder, right when Hihara noticed as well.

"Kaho-senpai…is something wrong?"

"Listening to Hihara-senpai's trumpet…it sounds so playful. Compared to my plaing…I feel like I'm no good at all."

"Ah, don't say that Hino-chan! It sounded playful because it's a fun song to play. You should just keep playing it the way you do!" Hihara interjected.

Tsubame grinned at her green-haired senpai. "Hihara-senpai is right Kaho-senpai. As long as you put your heart into your playing and you enjoy it…it'll be good music. Right Hihara-senpai?"

"Un!"

Kahoko looked at the two musicians beside her with wide eyes before raising a hand to cover her sudden fit of giggles.

"Ah! Don't laugh at me Hino-chan!"

"Thank you very much Hihara-senpai, Tsubame-chan."

Tsubame smiled softly at the red-head. "Why don't you practice a bit now Kaho-senpai? I'll help you if you want."

* * *

><p>It was later now and Tsubame found herself standing slightly off to the side from where Kahoko was standing in front of three of the Yunoki bodyguards. Her bags lay on the ground as she watched Kahoko. Her senpai's technique wasn't anything special to speak of but…Tsubame grinned as she remembered the feelings behind each pull and push of the bow that Kahoko had given. It had been a lovely practice session.<p>

"Are you ready to give us that performance you promised us?" The leader of the trio asked. Tsubame bit her tongue to keep herself from spitting back a nasty remark. It was bad enough those three picked on her; they needn't mock someone who was trying as hard as Kaho-senpai as well.

Kahoko raised her violin and settled her chin on the chin rest, closing her eyes as she placed the bow along the strings. And then, she started playing. Tsubame's expression relaxed as she listened, Kahoko's playing was really a beautiful thing to listen to. A few seconds into the performance, Tsubame noticed the gathering crowd and she grew slightly worried. Her senpai probably wasn't used to performing in front of crowds just yet. Silently and without drawing attention to herself, Tsubame kneeled down and took out her own violin. Soon, Kahoko noticed the crowd and froze; Tsubame could see the panic in her expression.

Without wasting another second, Tsubame walked into the center, meeting with Hihara, though Kahoko didn't seem to have noticed them. With a nod to one another, Tsubame raised her violin while Hihara raised his trumpet, both of them picking up from where Kahoko had left off. Tsubame saw the red-head turn her eyes to them and Tsubame smiled brightly as Hihara winked. Kahoko seemed to catch on then and quickly joined in. Tsubame shifted to a lower key as she played so that Kahoko's violin playing could take center stage.

It was exhilarating, playing such a fun tune after such a long time, and at the end of the piece Tsubame kept her eyes closed for a few seconds more, just to prolong the experience for as long as possible until the sound of applause made her open her eyes again. While Hihara shouted his thanks, Tsubame swept into a graceful bow.

"We don't approve of this!"

"Isn't it unfair? Playing together…"

"That's right."

Tsubame's smile faded and she frowned at the three bodyguards.

"Wait! It's not Hino-chan's fault!" Hihara interrupted.

"Ah, we chose to join in on our own." Tsubame added, narrowing her eyes at her upperclassmen.

"So we're sorry." Hihara finished.

"Not really…" Tsubame muttered to herself.

"And anyway, Yunoki did say we had to help her."

Hihara's words seemed to have struck a cord as the three girls turned into statues.

"W-we know that! Excuse us!"

Tsubame returned to where her things lay as Kahoko's friends congratulated her. A pang of loneliness hit Tsubame as she put her violin away, but she didn't let it show as she closed her white violin case.

"Hey Hino-chan! That was fun! Let's do it again together some time! You too Tsu-chan!"

Tsubame raised her head and smiled briefly at Hihara, the pain in her chest lessening somewhat. It would be fun to perform with such an upbeat person sometime in the future. As her schoolmates chatted amongst themselves, Tsubame took the chance to make her quiet getaway, leaving the school grounds unnoticed.

* * *

><p>"Hey Tsu-cchi! I heard from some friends that you performed in front of the school today?" Akira asked, appearing in the doorway to Tsubame's room. The young girl looked up from where she had been examining music scores.<p>

"Not really…" she mumbled.

"Oh, don't be like that Tsu-cchi!" Akira stepped into the room, looking around. The posters of visual-kei artists, along with random music scores stuck to the walls didn't even make Akira blink. He was used to the way Tsubame decorated her own room after all. "I wanted to see it…"

"You're busy Akira, it wasn't important."

Akira frowned and took a seat on the rollout chair in front of the desk in Tsubame's room. "Well, to make up for it. Will you let me have the honor of being your accompanist for the concours Tsu-cchi?"

"Idiot." Akira's expression fell as Tsubame got up from her bed, piling all her loose sheets together again. She placed them on her desk before looking over her shoulder with a soft smile. "Who else could I ask Akira? You're the only one stupid enough to be my friend."

Akira didn't take offense to that statement; instead, he chose to glance over to Tsubame's nightstand where a lone picture frame sat. "I wasn't the first one to get that honor though."

Tsubame stiffened at his words and she swiftly moved to her nightstand, picking up the picture frame and holding it tightly to her chest. "I think it's time you went home Akira. I'll contact you when I figure out what piece I will be playing." She said, with her back facing her friend. Without an argument, or even an attempt at one, Akira got up and left the room, closing the door softly as he exited.

Once she was sure he was gone, Tsubame loosened her grip on the picture frame and peered sadly down at the photo.

"No, you weren't the first Akira…" She ran her fingers over the picture before taking a seat on her bed, hugging the photo again as she let her eyes drift shut.

* * *

><p>"Tsubame-chan?"<p>

Tsubame couldn't help but wonder if this was going to become a daily thing as she lifted her head to see Kahoko standing in the doorway to her classroom, a troubled expression on her face. Tsubame got up from her seat, her things in her hands as she headed towards her senpai.

"Yes Kaho-senpai?"

"About the concours…"

Tsubame listened to Kahoko's troubles as Kahoko led the pair of them through the school's many hallways.

"Is that why you're looking for Tsukimori-senpai, Kaho-senpai?"

"Eh?"

"I thought you were just going to ask me for help, but if you needed moral support, senpai could have just said so."

"Th-that's not it Tsubame-chan…"

"What's that? Say that again, Tsukimori!"

Both girls raised their heads at the voice. Tsubame's brow furrowed. _'What…'_ The pair of them crept along the hallway and peered around the corner to see Tsukimori being cornered by two senpais. Hearing what Tsukimori was saying to the enraged older students made Tsubame mentally sigh. That boy was too blunt…

Kahoko suddenly moved and grabbed the vase of plants nearby, splashing both Tsukimori and one of the senpais, making them both turn to her. Tsubame stepped out as well.

"What was that?"

"Uh…uhm… I'm against violence?"

"Are you fooling with us?"

Kahoko moved back but tripped on her own feet, making Tsubame's eyes widen. "Kaho-senpai!" Without thinking, Tsubame reached out to grab the falling girl's hand. They both landed on the ground with a thump. Tsubame winced when a sharp pain cut through her hand. She quickly moved away from the broken vase, curling her left hand into a fist as she did so.

"Kaho-senpai…are you hurt?"

The third year student's ran away then as Tsubame watched Kahoko with a furrowed brow.

"Ouch…no…I'm fine." Kahoko's eyes widened in realization. "Tsubame-chan! You're-!"

"I'm fine Kaho-senpai." Tsubame interrupted with a smile, waving her right hand around dismissively.

"B-but-"

"Show me your hand."

Both girls turned their attention to Tsukimori as he crouched down next to the both of them. Tsubame clenched her left hand tighter.

"I'm fine Tsukimori-senpai. Really." She waved her right hand again. "See-"

"Show me your hand Tsubame!"

Kahoko and Tsubame both jumped at Tsukimori's slight raise in volume. Tsubame's expression crumpled and she brought her left hand out, uncurling her fingers so that Tsukimori and Kahoko could see the cuts that had appeared over her fingers and palm.

"I'm sorry Len…" Tsubame mumbled as the blue-haired male took her hand into his. He took off his tie and was about to wrap her fingers in it when Tsubame protested. "Your tie will get dirty Len!"

"These are the fingers you play the violin with Tsubame."

Tsubame's expression turned even more miserable if that were possible. "I know that Len…"

Kahoko looked between the two, her expression both confused and worried. "Maybe we should get Tsubame-chan's hand fixed in the nurse's office?" There were no objections and the three headed off to the nurse's office, though Kahoko noticed that Tsukimori had never once let go of Tsubame's wrist while they were walking.

It was quiet in the nurse's office as Tsukimori cleaned and covered up Tsubame's wounds before going to find a towel to dry his hair off. Kahoko sat next to Tsubame on the cot and watched the younger girl examine her injured hand.

"I'm sorry Tsubame-chan…for getting you hurt…"

"No." Tsubame looked up and gave Kahoko a sweet smile. "I'm just glad senpai didn't get hurt."

Kahoko realized that nothing she said would make the younger girl's mind and instead turned to Tsukimori. "I'm sorry for getting you wet too Tsukimori-kun."

Tsukimori finished toweling his hair dry. "Those injuries will affect your playing Tsubame. You knew that already, and yet you still-"

"I'm alright Len. I knew the consequences of my actions."

"And you."

Kahoko sat up straight as she was addressed.

"Be more careful next time. If Tsubame hadn't been there you would have gotten hurt." Tsukimori paused to place the towel down and to pick up his uniform jacket.

"That's amazing…practicing everyday, taking care of your body…you must really like the violin."

"That's worthless to say to him." Tsubame whispered to herself, sadly.

"Sentiments like that are useless."

"Then why do you play the violin?"

"That's none of your business." Tsukimori answered before leaving. Tsubame sighed and slumped forward, cradling her injured hand with her uninjured one.

"Don't think too much of it Kaho-senpai. Tsukimori-senpai is…well, he's Tsukimori-senpai." Tsubame slid off the cot and straightened out her uniform quickly, before looking up again. "Let's get going then Kaho-senpai?"

* * *

><p>For once, when someone came to speak to her Tsubame wasn't sleeping. In fact she had been expecting someone, staring blankly at the door to the classroom. Though she was surprised to see who it was that had come to speak to her.<p>

"What's a music student doing over here?"

Tsubame stood up and made her way to the door, deciding that leaving her things alone for a few minutes wouldn't be too dangerous. She stepped out and then turned to face the blonde cellist.

"Shimizu-kun? What are you doing over here?"

"Kanada-sensei asked me to give this to you…" the boy replied in his slow manner. He held out a sheet of paper and Tsubame took it from him, scanning it over.

"Kanada…you mean Kanazawa-sensei, Shimizu-kun?" She asked absently as she read the paper. So…the first selection was starting soon…And with the theme…"opening up", well, wasn't that what she was doing already? Playing the violin again…

Tsubame looked up from the paper to the boy who was blinking sleepily in front of her. "Thanks for going through all that trouble of bringing this to me Shimizu-kun."

"Your welcome…"

The two first years stood across from each other for another few seconds.

"Hey Shimizu-kun…are you free after school today?"

"I was going to practice…"

"I'll meet you by the front gates, okay? I'll see you then." Tsubame said, pretending not to have heard what the blonde was saying before turning and reentering her classroom, her mind occupied with sifting through a list of possible songs she could play.

'_Maybe…that song would be good…'_


	3. Timed Vibrato

**A/N: Here's the third chapter~ The traning camp episodes come up next chapter~ yay~ I feel like nobody's reading this story though...kinda a sad feeling...**

**anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. I don't have much to say so I'll leave it at that.**

**enjoy,**

**~ [Aoi-Kun]**

* * *

><p>Packing away the last of her things, Tsubame swung her bag over her shoulder, bending to pick up her violin case as she did so. As she checked to make sure she hadn't dropped anything, snippets of conversations reached her ears.<p>

"Can you believe her? Probably thinks she's better than us just because she got picked to be in the concours..."

"…always hanging out with senpais…"

"I heard that she and Tsukimori-senpai from the music department are on first name basis…"

"Did you hear, she's forcing Shimizu-kun from the music department to go on a date with her."

"…her parents don't even like having her around…"

Normally, Tsubame didn't care for things that people said about her, but really, this was too much. She raised her hand and banged her chair forward, effectively getting everybody to stop talking and look at her. She raised her lowered head so that her bangs fell away to reveal her murderous glare.

"Really, I wouldn't have to think I'm better than you. I _know_ I'm better than a group of gossiping idiots." She said softly. She raised a hand to fix her glasses before turning sharply on her heel and leaving the classroom.

As she walked down the halls, the feelings of anger that had welled up in her faded away just as quickly as they had risen, leaving Tsubame with a fairly blank look on her face. She ran a hand roughly through her hair as she finally exited the school building. She hadn't really expected Shimizu to show up, practice was more important what with the concours being so close, so imagine her surprise when she saw the sleepy blonde standing at the front gates, his cello case hugged tight to his side. Tsubame didn't understand why but her eyes teared up and she quickly raised a hand to rub the moisture out of her eyes.

"H-hey Shimizu-kun." She greeted him, clearing her throat when her voice cracked. The boy looked up at her and nodded to show that he'd heard her. "Uhm, thanks. I know I was being unreasonable." Tsubame mumbled, averting her eyes and tugging on one of her ear piercings.

"You were."

Tsubame's head shot up and she blinked in a bewildered manner at Shimizu before breaking into a bright smile that made the boy blink in surprise. "Well come on then, we don't have the whole day." She motioned to the gates with a jerk of her head and then the two began walking, Tsubame half a step ahead of Shimizu as she led the way.

* * *

><p>"I heard the snacks here are really good." Tsubame said, as if in explanation as to why they had ended up at a little café. She was like a little girl, happily looking around at the "cute" decorations around the one room café.<p>

Their waiter returned then, setting their orders down on the table. Tsubame glanced over to see what Shimizu had ordered and grinned again.

"Shimizu-kun likes onigiri, huh?"

Shimizu looked down at his plate. "Ah…"

With a small laugh, Tsubame picked up her own food and bit into it, an expression of bliss covering her face.

"Curry pan…?"

Tsubame reopened her eyes and smiled, picking up her napkin to wipe her hands on. "Yea, I've always liked curry. And curry pan is really convenient isn't it?" She replied, nodding. She swept her white hair back over her shoulder as she continued to munch on her snack, pausing occasionally to take a sip of her tea.

"Would you mind going to the park with me after this?"

"Ah…no…"

"Thank you Shimizu-kun." Tsubame finished her food and sat back in her seat, watching as Shimizu ate his food. He was…a nice person. Maybe he could be her friend. That would be nice. Her mind went back to the words her classmates had spoken earlier and her mood was slightly dampened. Shimizu noticed it when he finished eating…

"I'm done."

…or maybe not. Tsubame snapped out of her stupor and nodded. "Okay then. I'll pay for you too since I dragged you here Shimizu-kun." Tsubame said, pulling out her wallet and laying down a few bills. With that done, she picked up her stuff and waited for Shimizu to do the same before leading the way to the park.

At the park, the two walked in silence, Tsubame lost in her thoughts and Shimizu…well, he was always quiet wasn't he? The sun was setting already, and the beautiful colors splayed across the sky were not lost to Tsubame as she stared at the sky with a melancholic air around her. She was never gladder for someone to be with her than she was at that point.

The sky grew gradually darker and Tsubame finally stopped walking in front of a fountain, the sky now the dark blue of a clear night, the stars reflected on the water's surface.

"Hey Shimizu-kun…would you listen?" Tsubame whispered, softly setting her bags down and taking her violin out. In the darkness, Tsubame's white violin seemed to glow with an ethereal light. She carefully positioned her instrument and closed her eyes, setting her bow on top of the strings.

_Sad Romance, Thao Xanh Nguyen _

As she played, Tsubame poured her feelings of loneliness and rejection into each note that she drew out. She was faintly aware of Shimizu taking a seat on the edge of the fountain as he listened. Tsubame could remember back to happier times, when her older brother used to be around. The family had been closer then…not so…far apart.

She wasn't even aware of the tears that had started to slide down her cheeks as she remembered making her first friend at violin classes. She couldn't believe how different her life now seemed to be from her life when she was younger. It seemed to be ages ago…

When the song ended, Tsubame let her arms drop to her sides as she cried silently. Her knees gave out and she fell to the ground. As she cried, she felt someone take her violin and bow from her, putting them back in their case.

"Tsubame-chan…"

Tsubame opened her eyes, using her hands to wipe fruitlessly at the tears trailing down her face, to see Shimizu crouched next to her with a frown on his face.

"Shimizu-kun…" Without any warning Tsubame suddenly lurched forward and wrapped her arms around Shimizu's neck, burying her face in his shoulder, openly crying now. The poor cellist had no idea what had happened but raised a hand to rest lightly on Tsubame's back anyway.

* * *

><p>It was finally the day. The first selection. Tsubame stood in front of her wardrobe, her outfit for her performance in her hands. She hadn't bothered telling her parents about it, they wouldn't have heard her anyway. She averted her eyes from her mirror and neatly folded her dress up, putting it into a box before sliding the box into a bag and picking up her violin as well.<p>

With all her things set, Tsubame left her home, walking slowly. She had left earlier than normal, so she would get to the school with plenty of time left over. She had planned to take a few minutes to take a walk through the park but her plans were quickly dashed when a motorcycle pulled up right beside her and Akira flipped his visor up.

"Need a ride?"

Tsubame shook her head. "Why don't you just walk with me Akira?"

Akira seemed to consider it and then shrugged. "Wait here."

Tsubame waited patiently, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she waited for Akira to return. Soon, the boy came running up beside her, his hair slightly tousled from the wind. "Hope you don't mind. Your house was closest so I just ditched my stuff there."

Tsubame shrugged and continued walking, shooting Akira's clothes a quick glance. She mentally shook her head when she saw he was actually wearing the third year uniform of the music department of Seisou. "You didn't have to transfer to Seisou, Akira."

"Why not? Someone's gotta keep an eye on you, right?"

"I'm old enough to take care of myself Akira."

"That's what you say Tsu-cchi."

The two shared friendly banter back and forth as they walked to school. It was only when they neared the building did they fall into silence. Tsubame's brow furrowed as she saw a head of blonde hair bent over a book, reading. She looked up and her eyes widened. She shoved past the people in front of her and reached out a hand, managing to grab Shimizu's arm and pull him back before he stepped into the path of oncoming traffic.

"Tsubame-chan…" Shimizu looked up from his book to stare at the girl who was pushing her bangs away from her eyes.

"Such a rude freshman."

Tsubame stiffened at the comment, her eyes glinting darkly, but she dismissed it as she smiled kindly at Shimizu. "Shimizu-kun, you should watch where you're walking."

"Yea…"

Tsubame released her hold on Shimizu's arm when the boy looked down at her hand and she let her hand fall back to her side. She stood next to him, neither of them speaking.

"Hey Tsu-cchi! Did you really have to ditch me like that?"

Tsubame turned her head to see Akira skidding to a stop behind her. She stared at him blankly. "Sorry you're so slow Akira."

"Ah! Is that anyway to speak to your senpai?"

"I only see an idiot."

The girls from before, third year general education students by the looks of it, shot nasty glares at Tsubame when they caught her comment. Said girl's eyes flickered over to them for a moment before she turned around and took half a step closer to Shimizu's side. The cellist didn't comment if he had noticed, merely taking Tsubame's sleeve and tugging her along when the light changed.

Akira watched the two with a raised eyebrow before sticking out an arm to block the two girls from walking past him. "Excuse me ladies, I'd like to ask you to mind your own business. And I believe you owe my friend an apology when you see her later."

The braver of the two sneered back. "Why would we have to listen to a music student. Just because you all think that you're better than us regular –" She cut her comment short when she looked up and saw the smile on Akira's face.

"You'll apologize, won't you girls?"

"Y-yea…"

"Good."

With that, Akira once again took off after the freshmen, shouting for them to wait for him. The two girls that were left behind sunk to the ground, clutching onto one another with fearful expressions on their faces.

* * *

><p>Tsubame had just finished tying her hair into pigtails with ribbons when Kahoko ran into the room and slammed the door behind her. Tsubame looked away from the mirror to find Kahoko staring at her with wide eyes.<p>

"Kaho-senpai…?"

"There you are Hino Kahoko!"

The red-head switched her attention from the snowy-headed girl to the fairy that had just appeared. "Lili! You didn't tell me that I needed to dress up for this!"

Oh…was that what Kahoko was worried about? Tsubame looked down at her own dress and smoothed a few creases out of it. She didn't think it was such a big deal, but…then again she didn't think many things were that big a deal. When she looked back up at Kahoko it was with a quirked eyebrow that she watched Lili switching outfit after outfit. When Lili finally dressed Kahoko in a nun's habit, Tsubame couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing, right when the door to the changing rooms was opened. She looked up to see Hihara standing there with a bewildered expression on his face. He closed the door and Lili quickly changed Kahoko back into her school uniform.

Good thing it was only Hihara though, Tsubame doubted that anyone else would be so easily fooled into thinking that they had been seeing things.

"Your dress suits you Tsubame-chan."

Tsubame looked from her dress to Kahoko and smiled softly. "Thank you senpai. Your dress is cute too."

Kahoko smiled back at Tsubame as she opened the door. The two exited right as Shimizu walked past and a smile lit up Tsubame's face. Kahoko tilted her head slightly when she saw the smile, wondering why it seemed so different compared to all of Tsubame's other smiles.

"Good morning Shimizu-kun."

The blonde stopped walking and turned to face the two girls. "Good morning."

"Whaa…those clothes really suit you Shimizu-kun. Did you choose them yourself?"

"No, my older sister gave them to me."

"Ohh, so you have an older sister?"

"A younger brother and sister too."

"I-I see…"

Tsubame glanced down the hall while Kaho was speaking with Shimizu and noticed Kanazawa-sensei motioning for them.

"I think we should be going now Kaho-senpai, Shimizu-kun." With that said Tsubame stepped around Shimizu, turned halfway and cocked her head to the side before continuing down the hallway, the other two following behind her.

As soon as Tsubame pushed the double doors open a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her in making her lose her hold on the door and to silently pray that the door hadn't fallen on her senpai.

"Tsu-cchi~ isn't this exciting?" Akira asked after he had given Tsubame a "proper" hug which consisted of him squeezing Tsubame and said girl standing unresponsively in his arms.

"Not really." Tsubame answered in an offhanded manner. Now that she had been released from Akira's hold, she fixed her dress and went to find somewhere to put down her violin case. As she wandered around the area, she saw the other concours participants speaking with their accompanists. It was only on her way back did Tsubame notice that Kaho was standing by herself.

"Kaho-senpai, where's your accompanist?"

"I'm actually not sure…"

"Your accompanist is Shouji-san right?" Nozaki asked, "I'm sure she came to school today."

Noticing Kaho's distressed expression, Tsubame put a hand on her arm. "Go look for her, senpai. I'll buy you some time, so hurry back." Kaho nodded and then ran out. Tsubame quickly located Akira and whispered her plan to him in hushed tones. Akira frowned but nodded after a while and then went off with his music scores in hand.

Tsubame turned her eyes to the stage, where Shimizu was getting ready to perform. She edged closer to the opening and listened intently, never truly having heard Shimizu's playing style before. Someone came up next to her and she glanced over to see Hihara.

"Shimizu-kun's really good…" he commented.

"Note for note, it's exactly what was written in the score." Tsubame added. But she couldn't help but feel, as good as Shimizu's performance was, there was something missing. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

Akira appeared at Tsubame's shoulder at the end of Shimizu's performance and bent over so that his mouth was right next to her ear.

"All set."

Tsubame grinned slightly and nodded before moving away to stand with Shimizu, who looked like he was about to fall asleep standing. As she walked she paused as if remembering something and turned her head to see Hihara about to walk on stage with his trumpet in hand. "I doubt you need it, but good luck Hihara-senpai."

The green haired male seemed surprised at her words but grinned and waved at her nonetheless before walking onstage. Akira stayed where he was, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes to listen to the sound of the trumpet. Tsubame listened quietly for a few seconds to Hihara's performance before she spoke.

"Thank you Shimizu-kun."

The cellist turned to face Tsubame as the violinist slid her eyes to the corner of her vision to see him. "For what?"

Tsubame half grinned. "It's nothing. Just felt like saying it."

Shimizu didn't question Tsubame any further, returning to facing forward. Neither first year said anything else through Hihara's performance. Tsubame merely nodded at Hihara before he ran out in search of Kaho and Tsukimori. She listened intently to Fuyuumi and Yunoki's performances, almost completely ignoring the presence of the boy beside her.

Finally, she heard the announcer calling her name.

"Performer number five, from the general department, 1-1, Mizushima Tsubame-san. Performing a Vivaldi composition, "Spring" from the "Four Seasons"."

Tsubame took a deep breathe, letting the air out slowly before nodding slightly to Akira. With her white violin in hand, Tsubame walked onto the stage with Akira a few steps behind her. Now to see just how much time she could waste without pissing the judges off completely.

She stopped in the center of the stage, before the piano and bowed to the crowd, raising the violin and looking back to Akira, winking. Akira nodded minisculely and sat down, putting his music scores down. Then he looked at the sheets and his expression became confused. This is where acting classes became extremely helpful.

Tsubame lowered her violin and turned fully to Akira. "Akira…is something wrong?"

"I can't seem to find…the score…" he replied, rifling through his papers. The audience began murmuring among themselves and the judges exchanged looks.

"Excuse me, Mizushima-san, can you, or can you not perform?"

Tsubame's head shot up, a glint in her eyes. "Excuse me, but my accompanist is trying his hardest to locate his missing music. Would it really put you at a disadvantage to give him some time?" As she said that Akira "accidentally" knocked his folder to the floor, causing music scores to fly all over the stage.

One of the judges groaned and raised a hand to his forehead. "For the love of…"

Tsubame turned and crouched to help Akira pick up the papers and the two exchanged Cheshire grins before Akira attempted to get up and banged his head on the bottom of the piano. There was scattered laughter throughout the crowd and Tsubame rolled her eyes, now he was just taking things a little far. The two of them finally finished picking up the loose papers and hurried movements from the side caught Tsubame's attention. Hihara was waving at her to go ahead and play. So they were back then. She smiled slightly, glad. She shot a glance at Akira to see that he had also seen Hihara and Tsubame carefully stood back up.

"It seems we didn't have the score after all." Tsubame said as Akira placed his music folder to the side. "No matter, we'll just play without it."

_Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8, __RV__ 269, "La primavera" (Spring) Movement 1. Allegro_

Tsubame once again raised her violin, gave a short nod to Akira, and began. As she played, her eyes shut. She had chosen this song because of something her mother had told her once, a long time ago. Spring was the beginning of life after a long winter's sleep. When life awakened and began to show signs through the growth of plants. When the world once again opened up to show its beauty. She wasn't entirely sure of her reasoning, but Tsubame just felt that this song fit the theme.

As she played, Tsubame poured her feelings from that time, the carefreeness and the weightlessness of her childhood years, into each note. At the end of the song she breathed out before opening her eyes. There was a moments silence before applause filled the concert hall. Tsubame heard Akira step up behind her and the two of them bowed before walking offstage.

* * *

><p>"Your accompanist couldn't make it, hm?" Tsubame questioned, a little skeptical of Kaho's explanation. "I would let you borrow Akira…but as we've already played…"<p>

"It's alright Tsubame-chan. I'll manage."

Tsubame watched Kaho walk over to where she had placed her violin with an unsettled expression. Then, deciding there was no point in her worrying about it when her senpai told her it was fine, Tsubame moved to where she had left her own case. She nestled her instrument into the black velvet that lined the interior of the case. After loosening the bow, she placed that in as well. By then Kaho had already began her solo performance. Tsubame was tense as she moved to stand next to Hihara, watching the judges with a wary look. When they stopped Kaho and asked her what had happened to her accompanist, Tsubame nearly ran out there herself to yell at them for upsetting Kaho. Instead she moved away and back to where Shimizu was, faintly wondering where Akira had run off to.

When Tsuchiura announced himself as Kaho's accompanist Tsubame shook her head. Yet when the two started playing, she let her eyes slide shut and the music to wash over her. Sitting here, listening to Kaho playing…while Tsubame admitted that she'd had doubts about Kaho's choice in musical piece, senpai had made it work.

After Kaho had returned to the offstage area after her performance, Tsubame watched Fuyuumi approach the red-head and offer her handkerchief. It was a heartwarming scene, and Yunoki's blatant embarrassing of Hihara made it all the funnier. Of course Tsukimori just had to go and mess it up. Tsubame stared at the back of his blue-head as he walked onstage and then slowly lowered herself to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees and resting her chin on top. Tsukimori, eh? It'd been a while since she'd last just sat down and listened to him play.

* * *

><p>In the end, Tsukimori had ended up ranking first in the first selection. Kaho had gotten last place, but Tsubame hadn't done that much better herself, only landing sixth place.<p>

"The judges probably didn't like me for wasting all that time." Tsubame mumbled as she made her way to the rooftop, her violin case in hand. As she pushed the door open, she blinked upon finding Kaho sitting on one of the benches with Lili floating in the air before her. She cocked her head before joining them, rubbing her eyes in a sleepy manner.

"What did you do now Lili?"

Lili's expression became indignant at being accused of doing something and huffed. Tsubame turned to Kaho and she responded by explaining how Lili had gotten Tsuchiura entered into the concours. Tsubame blinked and then chuckled.

"This concours has just gotten a whole lot more interesting, hm?"

Lili brightened up. "See Mizushima Tsubame agrees with me Hino Kahoko!"

'_I expect there will be a lot more problems as well…'_


End file.
